Standover height: Stand with the bike between your legs. Lift the front wheel until the tube touches your crotch. If the front wheel lifts half an inch off the ground = not good. Lifts an inch or more (maybe even four inches) = good.

Top tube length: Combined with stem length will determine how far you have to lean or stretch to grasp the handlebars. Women are generally made differently from men in that they have longer legs and shorter torsos (and therefore shorter reach). Most bikes are still designed for men, so women have trouble finding bikes that fit lengthwise.

Toe overlap: With your feet on the pedals and riding, turn the front wheel. If you toe contacts the front wheel, you have toe overlap. Some people say that this is something you can get used to. I say it is not good.

These are all problems that are compounded by bicycles such as road bikes and hybrids that use the 700C wheels that are a larger diameter than the MTB wheel.

My experience related directly to assisting professionally in a bike-to-work project involving courses and free bicycles for those riders who stuck at commuting for a year. About five people measured your height or shorter, and while we used hybrids for the taller riders, these shorter riders had to be fitted with MTBs (and in the end, I think the MTBs were a better bet anyway as far as durability was concerned).

In addition, MTBs can be used offroad on gravel trails and single-track, whereas hybrids are less capable.